$14.7 million in grants to drive Defence innovation

Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne today announced seven Australian organisations would receive Australian government funding of $14.7 million to develop and demonstrate innovative technologies to enhance Defence capability, as part of the government’s $1.6 billion investment in defence innovation.

This multi-million dollar investment will support Australian industry and universities to research and develop innovative technologies that have great potential for Defence application.

“The funding is being made available under Defence’s long-standing Capability and Technology Demonstrator Program, which continues to contribute to the government’s innovation strategy,” Minister Pyne said.

“We are committed to developing a stronger partnership between industry and Defence and harnessing innovation to deliver Defence’s capability needs.

“The Capability and Technology Demonstrator Program is one of the Defence innovation programs that are transitioning into the new Defence Innovation Hub that will open later this year as part a $1.6 billion investment in building a strong and vibrant Australian defence industry and innovation sector.”

The seven technology proposals selected to receive funding include upgrading the overall performance of the Jindalee Operational Radar Network, enabling crew to see and hear through armoured vehicles without vehicle noise interference, and rapid repair technology to reduce costs and improve aircraft maintenance.

Other proposals include increasing situational awareness in the maritime domain, improving performance of navigation systems, providing better certainty for intelligence analysis, and improving the stealth of submarines.

“I am pleased that Defence encourages innovation from Australian organisations and I congratulate all those involved in submitting proposals to demonstrate solutions for Defence capability” Mr Pyne said.

The following seven Australian organisations will receive Australian government funding:

Tectonica Australia – Hear and See Through Armour (VIC)

Tectonica Australia will demonstrate a system that will enable an armoured vehicle crew to see and hear as though their vehicle is not there. Wearing virtual reality glasses with headphones, the user will see what is happening outside the vehicle and hear the direction of sounds relative to their head.

BAE Systems proposes developing a Decision Support System to significantly enhance battlespace awareness in the maritime domain. The System aims to enable the warfighter at sea to make better decisions by combining the performance of available radars.

University of Adelaide – Ultra-High Quality Signal Generation for Over the Horizon Radar (SA)

Adelaide University aims to upgrade the overall performance of the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN), through a performance upgrade of its essential sub-systems. This will improve overall detection of targets.

Australian National University – Precision Inertial Navigation with Cold Atoms (ACT)

The ANU aims to improve the performance of inertial navigational systems in GPS denied or degraded situations. This technology can be applied in the maritime, land and air domains.

Agent Oriented Software propose developing technology that acts as an advisor to intelligence analysts and operators that will augment their skills and provide an additional layer of certainty for the experienced operator.

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